The Negative effect of palm oil

November 12, 2016

Palm oil is one of the most common items in our Kitchen. We use it for food, milk and even cosmetics. Palm oil is also used in the production if soap and lathery. You might not have known but even toothpaste has palm oil in it. Yes, it is beneficial to the health and has many uses but this crop is one of the worst factors that Damage our environment.

Palm oil crops cause a heavy damage to the rain forest. You need to boycott palm oil immediately because of the following reasons.

MASSIVE ENVIRONMENTAL DEVASTATION

Palm oil crops utilize a very high amount of water. It is widely cultivated in countries like papa and New Guinea, Kenya and Southeast Asia. In Indonesia alone palm oil accounts for 11% of the country’s earnings through export. But this crop leaves a bad damage on the ecology and leaves the environment in bad shape.

Malaysia and Indonesia currently have a great eco-system risk due to the extensive use of palm oil. According to studies by UN Environment programs along with Princeton University US, Palm oil has greatly destroyed the rain forests in these regions causing danger to the lives of orangutans in Malaysia.

WILDLIFE POPULATIONS ARE DECLINING DUE TO PALM OIL CULTIVATION

About 60% of palm oil that is produced is sourced from the rain forests. Apart from environmental damage, rampant cultivation has even sparked off brutal conflicts among local population vying for rights to areas of cultivation. Palm oil companies are using fresh forest area and clearing them down instead of the empty ones. This is what displaces local fauna in the area. Animals are buried alive, and slaughtered in the cause of their actions.

Orangutans especially are the most affected as they are being repeatedly considered as pests in the area by such palm oil companies.50,000 orangutans have been killed in the last 20 years because of palm oil cultivation. Many endangered species are being slaughtered because of these companies selfish interests.

SAY NO TO PALM OIL

The size of rain forest cleared for every palm oil plantation is about the size of a football field. This kind of deforestation is unacceptable as it could affect mankind’s own existence later. A clever ploy is now being adopted with labels imprinted on red palm oil bottles saying that no orangutan habitat was damaged in manufacturing of the product. Could this claim be actually possible?